AATG News

Deborah Page, University of Cincinnati, AATG Representative

Ohio AATG Fall Conference

The Ohio AATG held its annual fall conference November 1-2, 2013 in Columbus at the Hyatt-Worthington Hotel, with approximately 25 people in attendance. The conference started on Friday afternoon with President Kristina Wassmann leading a discussion of the possible definitions of culture and the different way we may be able to incorporate it in our classes. We watched the AATG webinar, Teaching Culture. Following dinner, the group reconvened to watch the film, Das tapfere Schneiderlein.

On Saturday, Tricia Fellinger presented How to make the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System Work for You and Your German Program, addressing topics of assessment, proficiency, and program promotion. She provided information on the kinds of authentic resources available, and how to get outside support for a German program. Tricia also presented information about the A2 exam on behalf of the Zentralstelle für Auslandsschulwesen. A discussion about the changes to the National German Exam followed. The exam will no longer be paper and pencil, but housed in a Quia format.

Following lunch, Debbie Page presented a hands-on workshop on Ted Ed, a method to use to flip a class. Everyone left with plenty of ideas and the tools to develop additional lessons. The annual business meeting followed the workshop, where Darlene Lyon was reappointed as the Testing Chair. The members discussed the possibility of launching a website independent of a university, which would involve purchasing a domain name. Such a site could be accessed and modified by officers and others as they came onto the board, rather than being limited to an individual faculty member.

Join us at the Spring Meeting

The spring meeting of the Ohio chapter will be held during the Ohio Foreign Language Association’s spring conference (April 10-12, 2014) in Columbus. Please join us to discuss the state of the chapter and help set future goals. The meeting has traditionally been held in the late afternoon on Friday. I look forward to seeing you there!